‘The relevant home secretaries acted unlawfully for that period’: MI5 illegally kept data on millions of Britons… and ministers unwittingly signed off warrants, tribunal rules
- Tribunal ruled there were ‘very serious failings’ at the highest levels of MI5
- Ruling after MI5 didn’t delete data on potential suspects and people of interest
MI5 secretly kept data on ‘millions’ of people for years in a blunder which led to official warrants being declared ‘unlawful’, a tribunal ruled yesterday.
In a landmark judgment, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) ruled there were ‘very serious failings’ at the highest levels of MI5 to comply with privacy safeguards, after the security service failed to delete data it had on scores of potential suspects and people of interest.
The tribunal found that successive home secretaries failed to make ‘adequate inquiries’ into the breach of data rules which meant that warrants approving surveillance between December 2016 and April 2019 were unlawful.
Human rights organisations Liberty and Privacy International, who brought the legal case, argued that MI5 breached key legal safeguards by unlawfully retaining private data on ‘millions of people’ that was gathered by surveillance.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman (pictured) acknowledged in a written ministerial statement to Parliament that various home secretaries had ‘acted unlawfully’ as a result of the breach of data rules
Under the Investigatory Powers Act, state bodies including MI5 are allowed to collect and store wide-ranging data on any member of the public.
But any data which is no longer required for ‘authorised purposes’ should be destroyed.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman acknowledged in a written ministerial statement to Parliament that various home secretaries had ‘acted unlawfully’ as a result of the breach of data rules.
She said: ‘The IPT judgment in this case has found that MI5 unlawfully held data within the relevant technology environment between late 2014 and April 2019, and that the relevant home secretaries acted unlawfully for the period from December 2016 to April 2019, by approving warrants.’
The tribunal found no evidence to suggest that any MI5 officers sought to mislead ministers, but the failure of its management board to disclose the compliance failings was described as a serious misjudgment.
It is understood the breach concerned less than 1 per cent of the data held by MI5.
The Home Secretary added: ‘I would also like to reassure you that while this case has outlined widespread corporate failings between the Home Office and MI5, these issues are historic and the Home Office has taken steps internally to increase collaboration with MI5 and ensure there is appropriate resourcing in place within the relevant Home Office teams responsible for investigatory powers.’
Source: Read Full Article